J. R. R. Tolkien hated fame. The idea that there would be even a single biography of him probably bothered him -- he wanted his works to be remembered, but he didn't think you could learn much about a writer's works by learning about the writer. So he didn't think he needed a biography. He got them anyway. In droves. Most of them, frankly, bad, although some (such as the first one, by Humphrey Carpenter) are well worth reading.

In that context, it's good to have a "setting the record straight" book such as this one, compiled by Tolkien's oldest son and his only daughter.

And yet, it's a bit of a disappointment. There really isn't much "inside" information here; the large majority of it is readily accessible in the other biographies. Which leaves -- the pictures. If all you want is pictures of Tolkien's life, this is unquestionably the place to start. Some of the biographies are illustrated, but not like this. Almost every page has a photo or a reproduction of an old writing; many have more than one. In addition to photos of the young Tolkien, there are images of his grandparents, his father, his mother, his brother as a boy, and scenes from his youth. Sadly, less effort seems to have been made to gather pictures of his middle years, and some of the photos are not captioned.

Edith and Ronald Tolkien are long dead, and their children mostly gone as well, and their grandchildren were not as intimate with them. There is little more to be learned of J. R. R. Tolkien the man, and I think that genuinely sad. It is regrettable that this book did not tell more. But for those who wish to know about J. R. R. Tolkien's life, this volume is essential. ( )

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a man who came to be deeply identified with the England of his childhood - that area of the West Midlands, which he was to make famous in his stories of the Shire, homeland of the Hobbits.

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The Tolkien Family Album is by John Tolkien, (J.R.R. Tolkien's son) and Priscilla Tolkien, as 'other' author